The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has urged employers to comply with their legal obligations by submitting accurate information during the annual filing season which gets underway next month.
The annual filing season for employers will run from 1 April to 31 May 2021.
In a statement, the revenue collector said: “Employers are required to submit their Employer Reconciliation Declaration (EMP501) to SARS by 31 May, as well as outstanding monthly declarations (EMP201) and annual reconciliations (EMP501).”
SARS said Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) payments must be up to date and the data provided to SARS must be clean and accurate.
“The correct data is important so that SARS may pre-populate returns correctly and employees may submit their personal income tax returns with the correct information during the filing season for individuals,” said the revenue service on Monday.
The revenue collector said employers are also required to issue an IRP5/IT3(a) to employees on time, to enable employees to submit their personal income tax returns timeously. SARS requests employees to check if their details on the IRP5/IT3(a) are correct.
“Third party data suppliers such as medical aid schemes are also required to submit accurate information to SARS and to their clients,” read the statement.
These are important requirements so that the revenue collector can offer a streamlined and seamless service to taxpayers in line with its objective to make it easy for taxpayers to comply with their obligations.
Employers, tax practitioners and payroll administrators need to download the latest Employers e@syfile version.
This is a channel that SARS offers to allow employers to submit their EMP501 electronically. The revenue service has also encouraged small businesses to use this platform and move from manual to automated payroll systems.
Meanwhile, first-time job seekers can register for personal income tax via eFiling. It takes less than 24 hours to receive an SMS with a new tax number when applying via eFiling.
“To avoid penalties and interest employers must submit their annual reconciliation declarations to SARS by 31 May 2021,” said SARS. – SAnews.gov.za